Shortly after a petition hit the internet, Disney announced back in June that it was re-themeing Spash Mountain to the 2009 Disney Princess animated movie The Princess and the Frog and now another petition is gaining traction asking for the classic attraction to be themed to Black Panther, in honor of the late Chadwick Boseman.
Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman passed away in September following a private four-year battle with colon cancer.
Titled “Redesign Splash Mountain to Black Panther in honor of Chadwick Boseman,” the petition has gained more than 3000 signatures. You can read the petition’s official description below:
This is to petition to change Splash Mountain to Black Panther. Disney has announced to change Splash Mountain to Princess and the Frog, but in recent news encourage them to redesign splash mountain to Black Panther theme in honor of Chadwick Boseman.
Splash Mountain currently stars the animated characters from Song of the South, the 1946 film long criticized for stereotypes of “spiritual” black men and its seemingly nostalgic view of the antebellum South.
The current re-themeing plan is inspired by the all-time favorite animated Disney film, “The Princess and the Frog.” The story picks up after the final kiss where guests will join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.
According to the Disney Parks Blog, the idea for re-theming the 1989 thrill ride started over a year before the announcement and quite a bit of planning has gone into the reimagining so it’s not clear how much Disney will listen to the call.